This story was originally published in Magicbytes, my substack newsletter.
Turn off that noisy mind. In the still silence, the world speaks to us in ways, only our hearts can interpret.
Recently, I was flying with my husband and two kids. We usually book all three seats in a row and the one adjacent to that row. My husband or I take that single seat. Only this time, the seats next to the single were vacant too.
Halfway through the 1-hour flight, the kids decided to hop on to the adjacent row where my husband was. It took me a while to realize I had hit a jackpot of 30 mins of “me” time out of nowhere. I slowly moved towards the aircraft window and settled comfortably, maintaining a blank expression. Well, the emotionless face to not give out any clue of my excitement to the kids. The joy of parenting little kids 🙃
There is always something magical about being at a high altitude: Everything appears small and insignificant from above — the roads, buildings, bridges, and the worries and fears of an anxious mind.
Watching the clouds up close across the airplane’s wings was so surreal. Beyond the breathtaking beauty of the vastness, the striking skyline caught my attention. The distinguished beam had perfectly succeeded in owning its boundaries!
The patch of dark clouds floating aimlessly appeared to come at me closer and closer until it suddenly disappeared into the unknown. Ah, the passing clouds!!
As I looked back at the horizon again, it had already dissolved into the magnificent. There were no traces of borders or darkness. The clear, radiant sky had painted itself blue in no time.
The unexplainable view of the clouds and the grand gesture of the sky inspired me to listen to the quiet!
It whispered to my heart: “There is no permanence to your life or any situation. When doubts and fears fog your thoughts, making you lose balance, know that they may as well be passing clouds. To dazzle like the majestic sky, you should gracefully endure the challenges and never give up. Break the barriers that pull you down, and in no time, you will watch your life blossom with a new meaning for a greater purpose!”
My wish for you today: Whatever your anxious mind is putting you through, turn it off and listen to the profound silence. The Universe is waiting to inspire with custom messages crafted just for you! 💗
This story was originally published in Magicbytes, my substack newsletter.
Waking up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee, I used to scroll through my WhatsApp chats. Every time there was a text notification from my best buddies’ group, I felt thrills. But it was so short-lived when the response was one word. My excitement went downhill at this specific response, “hmm…” which felt like mocking my long, meaningful messages.
I was still in my postpartum phase and desperately needed human contact that was not my husband or my 1 yr old daughter or my distant co-workers to share my thoughts. I placed my bets and some expectations on my friends to fill that gap for me, as they were only 3 hours apart from my time zone.
I carefully drafted every text, filling in all details without caring much about the length. I waited patiently for a response, fixating my eyes on the phone, not attempting a blink to avoid any delay from my end. I stayed glued to my seat. Sometimes, I made another cup of coffee in anticipation of a longer text from them in exchange for mine. Nothing happened the way I expected. Suppose I had a way to collect all my disappointments in a jar. I bet I would have owned the giant pot of all negative emotions!
It didn’t stop there. The frustration from the mornings carried over to the rest of my day. I felt low energy throughout the day and found no motivation to do anything, leave alone try something new.
After a few weeks, I decided to do something different while I waited for the texts. I dragged myself to the park behind my house to start my day with a nice feeling. But I was unsure of what to do. My neighbour friend’s goal flashed in my mind for a second: running 3 miles around this park. She used to make it sound like a challenge, and that day, I wanted to give it a go!
In the days that followed, I promised myself to check the texts only after I had completed my runs, which became my newfound motivation!
I was so motivated to finish the challenge at hand. I was surprised to find how beautifully running channeled all my pent-up feelings and energy. I was not a bit surprised to surpass my expectations.
That is precisely how I started running in the first place and the rest is history.
Becoming a runner transformed my life forever! 🏃♀️
My Jar overflows with nothing but Love, Joy, and Gratitude! ❤️
My wish for you today: Whatever you are waiting on, use this time to do something that might change your life for the better!
This story was originally published in Magicbytes, my substack newsletter.
Today, I want to celebrate a milestone with you!
After all the rest and recovery from a surgical procedure, I finally finished my first 5k run in the last three months.
In my last seven years of running, I never thought I would take some time to recognise a 5k run! That is Life’s way of telling me: Don’t you ever feel less or more of what you can do right now, for you never know what lies ahead of you!
After the misdiagnosis episode, I decided to take the next 100 days off work to focus on the handpicked priorities of my Life!
Our mini family vacation, which I had booked to celebrate my 40th birthday, was the first on the list. Except I got sick the day we started the trip and finally got better only on the last day of our vacation. Nevertheless, I did everything I could to enjoy the lovely holiday: pool time with kids, the unstoppable waves on the beach, the gushing waterfalls, the long hillside walks, beautiful caves, and whatnot?! I even cut my birthday cake in style! Yay!
The power of reminding my mind that I am the Boss!
So far, so good….until we arrived at the airport to board the flight back home!
When I started thinking about how nicely I had played along through all the recent turmoils, Life whispered in my ears, “Not yet!”
What happened in the next few hours was one such moment for me!
It was only 4.30 pm, and we had a few more hours left for our flight. The airport was super crowded, with almost every seat taken but two. I sat next to my son, watching him enjoy every bit of the lollipop he managed to get with his winning tantrums. My daughter didn’t mind standing, as her eyes were busy grazing the variety of shops she wanted to go to when her Dad returned from the coffee shop.
From a distance, I could spot my husband waiting in line. Right opposite me was seated an elderly couple discussing their itinerary. Beside me, a family of 4 immersed entirely in their virtual world with their gadgets. To my left were seated 2 mothers who were hustling with their 4 kids.
It was so interesting to watch all the people doing things their way. Little did I know then I would grab every one of their attention in a few minutes.
My husband returned with 2 fuming cups, handing over one to me. As I tried to take a sip, I realised the tea was served at a boiling temperature. No sleeves for the paper cup or an extra cup to reduce the intensity of the heat.
Watching my daughter becoming restless about not having a seat, I got up to offer her my chair when it all happened.
I had not even fully stood up when I felt a sharp shooting pain navigating through my right leg; I heard people around me hissing in chorus. The world around me spun super fast in those 5–10 seconds. It took me a bit to realise that the piping-hot chai cup had landed on my right thigh.
The pain grew exponentially the moment I understood what had happened. I quickly turned to check on my kids. My son was sitting still with his lollipop, and my daughter was busy watching something on the phone with her Dad.
While every eyeball around me was fixated on me, awaiting my next move, my daughter and husband were the only two people who didn’t even notice.
I deliberately called out to them to my rescue. My husband looked at me and started laughing, but soon realised something was serious when I did not reciprocate his emotion. Anyway, what else was I expecting from a man who is a big fan of watching “America’s funniest videos”?! 🤪
When I explained to him that the tea was hot, my daughter thought I was blaming my husband and was quick enough to snap at me about being responsible, blah, blah…Thanks to the unbearable pain, my ears were half shut 😉
I promised to be calm, although I wanted to scream in high pitched tone, only I was not sure which one of the disappointing or frustrating life situation to choose from over the last few months. Trust me, they were all equally competitive!
I took a sip of water and poured a bit over my burning leg, attempting to alleviate the slightest trace of pain. I sat down for a while because I was so afraid to move my legs. I pulled a couple of wet wipes from my bag and cleaned the spills on my baggage [Oh, all the insane things a disintegrated mind can make you do! On a normal day, I would not even care about those inconspicuous spills on my baggage!]
After a while, I cleaned up my clothes and returned to my seat, limping around with the constant burning sensation.
I ordered another cup of tea. Although my hands were now shaky enough to receive the hot cup, I finished the drink with the utmost caution, trying to conquer any leftovers of fear!
A positive mind always finds ways to feel gratitude! In that moment of heat, despite all my burns, I was thankful I had caused this accident and not my kids. I felt extra grateful that I did not harm my kids in any way.
The following week, I underwent a surgical procedure[another episode of “life happens”] and felt zero pain! The doctors and nurses were surprised I had no strain! Maybe my pain tolerance had increased from the burn accident at the airport!
The only discomfort I felt was when the doctor told me not to exercise hard for the next few months, just to make sure there were no side effects.
I recovered quickly from the surgery, but the burns took almost 4 weeks to heal. Watching my skin repair, shed, and regrow has been nothing short of a miracle!
Today, I feel more grateful for my resilient body than ever! I am fortunate for every opportunity I give my body to show its worth instead of simply fussing over the weighing scale!
Thanks to all the unprecedented problems, uncertainties, and uninvited changes over the last few months. My Life’s goals and priorities have become more visible through every daunting situation! The path is crystal clear than ever! I know where I should be headed!
The best part of Life is that it always offers you choices, even during the most challenging times. Always choose to see the brighter side! ALWAYS! 😎
My wish for you today: No matter your life situation, fill your heart with gratitude and let it revive your hope with every beat! Allow the Magic to happen!! ❤️
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Here is a wonderful article, I enjoyed about sunsets and miracles by Victoria Gregg
God created humans with the most complex system ever, the human body! The body’s unique design allows it to self-heal and live through adverse weather conditions and extreme environments.
While He carefully chose to automate the body’s internal working, he willfully left the maintenance work to our common sense.
The rest of the article is about how we care for such fantastic bodies!
Eat
The best advice I ever received is “Eat well.” It is funny how I only learned it the hard way.
After falling for all the fad diets in my 20s, I lost much more than just my body weight. Although the lost pounds returned once I resumed eating normally; I had to work harder to build back the strength in my body.
I lost 15 lbs in 2 months, eating only salads and soups. The occasional sandwiches were my treat. I avoided carbs. I mainly ate fresh fruits, vegetables and pulses and believed it was enough for my body. I never cared to listen to it. I kept dismissing its signals.
I resisted hunger. I distracted myself to avoid eating, so I could look good. While my outward appearance looked great, my body suffered deep inside.
The worst part was no one else knew the truth but me.
I realized something was wrong when I lost my sleep to chronic knee pain. It bothered me so much every day that I reluctantly agreed to visit the doctor.
The doctor’s advice hit me harder than the pain in my knees. He asked me to avoid walking or standing for a long time and lifting any weights. I listened to him staring at his prescription for a bunch of pain killers, vitamins and minerals supplements.
His voice echoed in my ears long after he finished talking. This knee pain resulted from all the nutrients you had cut from your diet!
It was my wake-up call to eat healthy food for my body. I realised it is the only way to nourish the body and allow it to function optimally. There is no shortcut.
Our body needs a balanced diet. Cutting carbs/protein/fat or any other essential nutrients may eventually only lead to long-term health issues.
Choose a diet, you can live with for life. Because Food is Love. Food is Life -Rujuta Diwekar.
Exercise
My knees badly wanted those pain relievers at the doctor’s office, but I promised them something else.
I took a gym membership and started strength training with the help of a personal trainer. I never believed in love at first sight until I worked those weights during my training. At the end of every session, I was the one in charge, conquering my pain a bit more than yesterday.
One year later, I was in my best form, performing deadlifts, 1.5 times my body weight. The trainer calls me a natural, crediting the performance to my best asset: My Legs!
Three years later, my knees thanked me for keeping my words at the finish line of the half-marathon race when my daughter was a year old — a massive accomplishment for someone who was once susceptible to her body weight, let alone carrying a baby through the pregnancy!
Another baby later, I returned to running and trained for another half-marathon race. A few years later, I am now back to lifting weights in the gym, and I cannot thank my body enough for delivering the best! All I ever have to do is feed it nutritious food to help it recover!
I am glad I did not settle for the doctor’s prescription or the norms about women’s weightlifting or long-running. I could have never found the robust version of my body that had long yearned to outperform the thoughts in my mind!
I thank my body for going above and beyond! The bounds of confidence and positivity it brings into my daily life are priceless!
Surprising facts and the most infamous question
In my best form of health, I was 10+ pounds heavier than my pre-pregnancy weight, even after all the hardcore training. I lost inches and gained a super-toned body with an excellent muscle mass percentage! So, the next time you dread the weighing scale, grab the measuring tape!
I started running again after my second pregnancy and was surprised to find how easy it was to catch up and improve my mileage. Thanks to muscle memory. It works wonders! Mind you; Every workout counts!
Being healthy looks different for everybody!! According to the BMI calculator, I am borderline overweight. But, my running and weight lifting performance have peaked at an all-time high!
Fitness is not about having a picture-perfect image. It is about feeling good, inside and out!
My favourite part of my current lifestyle is that I don’t put on weight even when I have not worked out for more than a week or ten days. My body conveniently sticks with its current weight, allowing me to be comfortable in my skin!
Only we know our bodies, the best! There are days I wake up feeling bloated because of sleepless nights or stressful work. And that is ok. Life happens, and judging my body is unfair because I slipped a few days!
The only way I have found to measure my progress is by looking in the mirror and beating the damn performance of that person I see there!
Some days, I want to rest, and sometimes, I must force-stop myself to avoid overuse injury! Rest and Recovery are as crucial as the workouts to achieve the best results!
Fitness is a lifelong commitment; I don’t believe in cheating my body to indulge in that sizzling brownie with ice cream.
I bet I burned more calories answering the most overrated question: How much weight did you lose?! For starters, weight loss was never my goal. So, please ask me what I gained instead!
Body weight says nothing about our underlying health condition. I have friends who look slim with high cholesterol levels and people who are on a diet with hormonal disorders. Next time you want to go on a crazy diet to lose weight, ask yourself: Is it worth your body?
The game-changer of my fitness journey has been my beautiful body! Falling in love with it and accepting it has been the best decision ever.
Health is not just being disease-free. Health is when every cell in your body is bouncing with joy -Sadhguru.
Brian Tracy in his book “Eat that frog” talks about how to finish the most difficult and daunting task, first thing in the morning to avoid procrastinating.
He says, “Eat that big ugly frog first.” And after only 3 years of reading that book, I’ve finally put that into practice and am amazed at the results.
As I sip my first cup of coffee every morning, I pick the ugliest of all frogs on my plate and start marinating it. As much as I am disgusted to imagine touching it, I feel the same way about doing some of the tasks at work.
I used to wait until dusk to push some of the tasks to the next morning only to find myself in a spot several days later, where I can’t prolong any further. The last-minute pressure of getting any work done is not only stressful but also strips the fun out of the process involved in executing it.
I have thought about many creative ways in the past to trick myself to at least get started with such work, but my mind would often arrive at an unplanned destination in a matter of minutes.
So, nowadays I start my day with the most challenging task, I would never pick otherwise. The unperturbed mind space combined with the brisk energy in the morning drives my focus to the task at hand. To my surprise, I finish the job also in very less time.
Starting a brand new day with a sense of accomplishing a tedious work continues to create the ripple effect throughout the day! It leaves me beaming high with confidence and ample energy!
What is the ugliest frog, you have eaten so far and how did you feel as an after effect? Please share it in the comments.
It is not the powerful lectures, sparking conversations, or the voluminous self-help books that spring me into action immediately.
The casual unyielding comments and witty one-liners light up my inner fire in no time.
Once found, I keep feeding on that energy forever!
If you want to fly, give up everything that weighs you down -Buddha.
Reclaiming the power from within
As I gasp for breath, I continue to run towards the focal point set before me, swinging my arms back and forth in an upright position. I am totally present at the moment. It creates a beautiful mind space with zero noise from the outside world.
In the eternal silence that follows, my heart beats fine-tunes itself to sync with the rhythm of my legs.
Around the end of the 3rd mile, I always want to take a break. I can hear the stone benches in the park call my name, but I tell myself to not settle for it.
Not giving in to those benches motivates me to keep going mile after mile, passing by them.
I never once sat to take a break in my thousand miles of runs!
Be mindful of your self-talk. It’s a conversation with the universe -David James.
In her own words: “I would shout out to a few of my fellow writers who are already an established brand, and they always leave their signature marks in their writing.”
She continues to surprise me by listing me among the brilliant bunch of writers, people I look up to in my writing journey.
Wait, did she say, I have established my brand in writing?! [ahem…that was my vanity wondering aloud! 😉]
Her words will be the source of my extra boost forever!!
Thank you, dearest Umme Salma. Your comments always inspire me to write more!
Exactly a week later, Rhea Anglesey’s story touched me deeply. It was a heartfelt read, and I felt honoured to be part of it in a small way.
She added: “I would also like to dedicate this piece to some other inspirational writers who live their lives with empathy and kindness that radiate in their writing and their interactions on this platform.”
She listed me among the most kind-hearted souls of Medium.
Rhea Anglesey, your recognition means a lot to me because I solely write with that purpose.
Surround yourself with like-minded people. Success is a group activity -Angel Alzona.
It is legs day at the gym. The first workout is to do an inclined leg press of 220 lbs. Mustering in all my strength, laying in the incline position, I push the chunks of weight against gravity with my legs, grasping the sidebar with my hands for support. I finish the first two sets of 15 reps with dripping sweat and shaky legs.
In the last set, I already had run out of my energy reserve by the 10th rep. I had nothing more left to finish the remaining 5 reps.
I could neither quit halfway nor continue further.
With increasing heartbeats and a perspiring just-turned red face, my body seeks out some desperate magic when my trainer called out, “Come on, Champion!”
That’s it! With the newfound power, I performed the last 5 reps scraping out the last bits of stamina, and stopped not until he said, “Alright, that is enough!”
You must do the things you think you cannot do -Eleanor Roosevelt.
This life is mine alone. So I have stopped asking people for directions to places, they have never been -Glennon Doyle.
What motivates you to get back to action in no time? Please share it in the comments.
If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present -Lao Tzu.
Being present in the moment helps me look forward to the uncertainties in life with curiosity and an open mind.
Time and again, the best blessings of my life are the ones I never planned or expected.
This is why I get EXCITED when things don’t go my way.
I believe it happened for a reason: To pave the way for the greater good!
The higher power is NOW in action!
Putting all my faith in the superior force makes me feel secure today.
The ray of hope finds me even in my darkest moments.
The hard part of this challenge is getting 100 likes for the contest article. I bet Winston knew this was coming when he set it as a criterion to progress to the next phase [insert evil smile from Winston].
A couple of days back, I had only 36 likes for my contest article. That is, after trying everything I could.
Every like took forever to get.
I honestly thought my story would max out at 50 likes.
I dreaded abandoning the challenge mid-way.
I am NOT a quitter. And I don’t fear failure. I kept repeating them to myself in a loop.
I don’t even fear the unknown. So, what’s the name of this feeling trying to eat me? What am I trying to avoid? I pondered. For all I knew, it was a familiar emotion.
After dissecting the thoughts in my mind, I figured:
It was the grand feeling of not being enough for those who may read my story. And its byproduct: The Fear of SHAME.
This realization freed me from lingering self-doubts and insecurities.
I decided to show up to the battle. Only this time, I knew the weakness of my enemy: the ugly face of shame [wicked smile 😈]
Somewhere in the middle of the challenge, the actual game has begun!
Everything is possible for believers
The idea of self-marketing made me feel uncomfortable. Because this would mean reaching out to my friends, extended family, co-workers, and acquaintances who had no clue that I have a secret writer life. So, I saved this strategy for doomsday.
First, I posted my story on LinkedIn and prayed nobody read it. I got 2 likes on the story and a comment from a dear friend who lives in a faraway land.
Not bad at all! [2>0?!]
I reached out to my friends on Medium through my promotional article.
Kristina God, my boot camper coach, was very kind to write an article for me. The best thing about Kristina is that she is always waiting for an opportunity to lend her helping hand!
I reached out to my creative friend Adelina Vasile who brainstormed some beautiful ideas over email and Twitter. She told me to stay active, comment, and endorse others’ work on Substack, and they may reciprocate. This was GOLD!
I read a similar strategy from Substack about how sending cold emails worked to get more subscribers for their newsletters. So I told myself, why not?!
I searched for Substack newsletters with the same niche as mine: Magicbytes. Reached out to them one by one in my comments to their story. I invited them to check out mine.
To my surprise, the responses from the Substack community were great! I was able to make some real connections.
I still had halfway to go. So I dived in headfirst to reach out to extended families, friends, friends of friends, and co-workers.
What happened after that was nothing short of amazing. I received texts with loads of encouragement and support! Too much to blast my gratitude journal and keep me writing for the rest of my life! 🤩
I felt like a brand new person! Being recognized and appreciated by people wanted me to do more! I realized I had a lovely support network, I never noticed.
My fear of shame was washed away by multitudes of praise!
I wrote this article inspired by Marilyn Flower’s story where she points out that “If Tamil can, I can.” And I thought, why not share my experience?!!
mymagicbytes.com 